RTI: How 22-year-old helped them get their Act together

Most government departments had no clue about the Act and its implications. “We had to run from pillar to post to seek simple information. We ended up educating several senior government staff about the RTI,” says Dharmesh, who started off as a student activist with the People For Animals.

When Dharmesh asked for the information, government officials demanded he pay Rs 50 for every name of a PIO and AA. “I pointed out to them that the Act mandated government departments to proactively disclose the information.” But they were unmoved.

Finally, he sent an appeal and a letter to the AA of the state Public department—even though he didn’t know his name! That didn’t work either. The letter was not accepted, as “there was no such post” and returned.

In sheer frustration, armed with the returned envelope, Dharmesh filed a petition before the State Information Commissioner S Ramakrishnan.

In a stinging order on October 17, 2006, the Commission said “it was a tragedy of extreme proportions” that the Public Department, which is the custodian and administrator of the Act “had exhibited such abysmal ignorance”. “We have entered into second half of October and even the basic administrative department right under the custody of the Chief Secretary himself has not moved,” the Commissioner said.

He was ‘pained’ to see the scant respect and interest shown to this landmark legislation. The Commission said: “Ignorance of law is not bliss, but is punishable and punishment has to be in proportion to the gravity of offence. Violation of law by the very custodian of law calls for the highest degree of punishment which one can think of.”

It directed the secretary of the Public Department to immediately take personal action to ensure that the list of PIOs/AAs of every department of Secretariat was collected and a hard copy delivered to the petitioner at his residence before 5 pm of October 20, 2006. It further stipulated that information about other HODs and Public Authorities in the state should be completed before November 15, 2006 and supplied to the petitioner.

In two days Dharmesh got a 150-page document containing the names of the PIO/AAs of the various secretariat departments. Within two weeks he got a 2,000-page bundle, hand delivered, containing the names of PIOs/AAs of every taluk in Tamil Nadu.

The first major hurdle had been crossed. He and his colleagues are now in the process of applying for crucial information in the state environment and pollution departments that could perhaps teach the administration a thing or two.